Soo & the City Blog

Living in the 4th largest city in the nation, I believe Houston is one of the best cities in the US to live, work and play! I consider myself the average consumer, not so much a foodie, who likes to educate like-minded people on the overall experience of my continual discoveries of restaurants, shops, new real estate developments, social spots, and the neat little places to go for everyday living in the city of Houston. I love learning about new fun things in the city and I like to share those new, fun and helpful things with everyone I know. I've created this blog for people that like such things as well. Ok, hope you enjoy!

Modern 3/3.5 patio home with rooftop terrace, located in a quiet community in Cottage Grove! This home features a spacious open living floor, abundant sunlight, gleaming hardwoods, large island kitchen, granite countertops, dark cabinetry, storage for days, separate breakfast area, a wet bar with wine chiller, and generous sized rooms. Quick access to Memorial Park, Hike & Bike Trail, I-10, 610 and Downtown! All appliances stay.

Not me, but a client of mine who I stopped by her house to tour before we put it on the market and was surprised at how green her thumb was! From her rooftop terrace she has an awesome thriving garden! She generously gave me a Thai Basil plant and Sweet Basil plant! And she has a handful of beautiful and full orchids! Even from her 4 story townhome you can have a great garden, I have no excuse! Currently this is my backyard...I’ve been working on the last year.

It still needs string lights and a fire pit, some more plants in the beds and a few other little functional things for the kiddos.

Not bad, for fast food. Convenient location for me since I live and work nearby. However, I thought it was a little pricey, $10 for this Falafel Bowl. I was recently thinking there’s no quick in and out kind of place for a falafel meal, and I guess this place is better than nothing but it’s not really priced well for me to choose it over another Lebanese restaurant, anyway my search for a fast food falafel meal continues! And yes I’ve tried the halal guys, wasn’t that keen...

Try 2 at Postino’s in Heights Mercantile off of Yale near the hike and bike trail and this time we wait the 1.5hr wait and I have to tell you, I don’t think it’s worth the wait. The atmosphere is nice, casual and festive but the food is disappointing. And it wasn’t the taste but more the selection. All they have is finger foods, salads and paninis. It’s more like a lunch menu than dinner. But, the food really didn’t taste all that great either. The Tomato soup was actually pretty good. I forgot to take a photo of the Butcher’s Block that had Ana assortment of items, olives, 2 small things of cheese, meats, a not so tasty hunk of hummus, nuts, a couple of asparagus, dried fruits, and some toasted bread, sounds tasty, but it wasn’t that great. Anyway, over all a ho hum m kind of experience.

I’ve been to the Las Vegas location and liked it, so naturally when I saw it was opened here, I knew I totally wanted to visit. It made the perfect sense to make it the spot for our next date night. But at the same time Postino just opened and that looked a lot like my speed, so the plan was to go there first, since they don’t take reservations...and if it were crowded, we would still be able to make our reservations at Fig & Olive. Well, just as I suspected, Postino was jam packed! It was an hour and a half wait...Fig & Olive it is! However, after seeing the vibe and crowd there I was really disappointed about having to leave and go to Fig & Olive. Anyway, once we arrived in the Sak’s 5th parking lot, we did feel even more sad...it was a fancy place...not totally what we were in the mood for tonight. It’s a pretty place though, older, stuffier crowd. I breeze through the food because it wasn’t really that memorable of a meal...we had the Quinoa salad, Filet Mignon, side of Sauted Spinach and the Apple Tart for dessert...all was decent to ok, we both rated it a 3. In their defense, we skipped their Crostini’s which seem like a signature piece, since I’m still taking care of a baby, and he might be lactose intolerant, I had to be mindful of my dairy intake, so that meant no cheese, so no Bruschetta and no Burrata, booo. Anyway, the food and atmosphere were a disappointment for what we were in the mood for...but ultimately we were crazy about the food either. However, I can’t wait to actually try Postino’s!

It’s official, no longer Les Ba’get but now Les Noo’dle...and they are now open, as a noodles only restaurant. No longer housing their old menu but only 3 main dishes, Beef, Chicken and Vegetable Pho. They also have some side dishes but that’s really it. I hadn’t had it in awhile so I had the Beef Pho, still so good! I’ll try the Pho Ga (chicken) next time. I liked how it was pretty much empty inside and you don’t have to try to beat the rush crowd. The truth is, it’s not that big of a change for me since I always got the Beef Pho anyways. Their other menu items will be at their new location near 34th and Ella as Les Ba’get, opening hopefully around early Summer. Anyway, that’s it for now...I’m very happy to report they are back open!

Wonderful 2-story 3 bedroom 2.5 bath free standing home in Rice Military! This home features an open living floor plan with vaulted ceilings, fireplace, hardwoods, granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, Jacuzzi tub, master located on second floor along with outdoor deck off the living with a nice-sized, fully fenced backyard, and a private driveway! Conveniently located near Memorial Park, I-10, local restaurants & bars and quick access to downtown and all major freeways!

You know, the name sounds off putting, at least to me, since I’m not a big gamey food kind of person. But I see they get really high ratings so it’s been loosely on my list of to-dos, emphasize loosely...and on take-out day, it’s where I chose to order tonight’s meal. I wanted to be surprised by it, but honestly, I wasn’t. It wasn’t bad, but I don’t think it’s worth $11. The bread was a little stale and the meat didn’t seem so juicy, kind of flat tasting. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t a 4.5 Star kind of meal. I wondered if taking it out had a factor, anyway, I may try it again, this time order in.

I was skeptical, but since our favorite place, Les Baget, is out of commission at the moment, we thought it would be a food time to try Local Pho. The location is cool, the building is cool, the space is nice.

The tofu spring rolls we ordered came wrapped in Saran Wrap and on a styrofoam plate. The peanut sauce looked unappealing but tasted ok. The rice paper on the spring rolls were ripped and they themselves weren’t horrible, but overall weren’t that great. Matt ordered the Pho Ga and said it was good. I got the Pho Tai and thought mine was not very flavorful and really greasy. And after we were done, sitting there for maybe 5-10 minutes our soups had congealed and looked really gross. Anyway, not the best experience and probably safe to say I will not be returning.

Is this old news? Not sure if this is a frequented place by many, but I definitely feel like this visit was long due. Quite honestly, I don’t hear that much about it but since Sasha was craving a burger, Ms. Healthy, I couldn’t deny her this craving. So she got the Mushroom burger on wheat bun, which I did not know was a choice. The girl at the cashier seemed like she didn’t really speak very good English. I told her I was considering the Classic Burger but was there anything else on the menu she thought I must consider and I don’t think she understood what I was asking because she said she didn’t understand...anyway, I told her nevermind I’ll take the Classic and I guess it hit her later because she then recommended the Kobe Burger...which I then ordered...but did not love. It was just super messy and there were runny things coming out of it and the meat patty was an odd shape so it was hanging out of the burger on 2 sides...it just wasn’t that great of an experience but I didn’t think the burger was bad, but it wasn’t great either. I might have to try it again becaue I was pregnant and had to order it well done. The fries were good and I was glad they had Topochico my new love, so for those 2 things I give it a 3.5.

David thought I wouldn't like it, I think because I'm not a fan of 2nd Cup which sort of has a similar cold vibe with its concrete floors and open layout, but I actually didn't mind Gold Bagel's atmosphere, maybe because it's smaller. I would come back. I ordered an Everything Bagel toasted with Cream Cheese, I wished they had lite cream cheese, but they didn't. The coffee was a bit bitter. I tried some of David's Cinnamon Roll and not bad. Overall I liked it, I would come back if I was in the mood for a bagel and sit down conversation. My favorite bagel run is Hot Bagel on Shepherd near Fairview, which is more of a in and out kind of place. Not the kind of place you want to sit around with friends. Anyway, that's my 2 cents.

I forget about what a great salad spot this is! I had the Ahi Tuna Salad, it was sooo good, the bad thing is it was $25! Ouch! But it sure was tasty! Molten Chocolate cake was good too. Happy Birthday David!

Is this a joke? I’m looking for Glaze Donuts and I miss it because surely it’s not in the same parking lot as this gas station??? It is...and I am second guessing my decision to buy Ethan Birthday doughnuts from this place but I already preorderd it, they require a 24 hour advance order...ugh! I’m going to regret this...

And walking in the shop doesn’t help...very ho hum interior too. I let her know I’m here for the order and decide to order a doughnut, no, doughnut holes to sample the quality. Of course I pay for the order, and she throws in the doughnut holes and an extra doughnut on the house...this is not helping my perception! She’s trying to give these things away! I taste it in the car on the drive back, it’s actually not bad. It’s not as good as what I’m used to but really not bad at all.

So this is what the Happy Birthday doughnuts look like, cute. It’s $34 for this box set of chocolate, vanilla and strawberry, their default set up. It might have been excessive, maybe more doughnuts than we can eat, but it looks cool. I leave it at home and Ethan gets home and texts me if he can eat the doughnuts. I say yes, I come home later and I see he’s eaten his entire name. I ask how it was, he said it was good but the strawberry ones were not his favorite, too fruity. The next day I see dad has eaten the “Y” in BIRTHDAY, I try each flavor...half of 3 letters. I agree with Ethan’s assessment, the chocolate and vanilla are good, the strawberry is eh. Actually the chocolate is the best! The next morning I look in the box, all gone except the strawberry ones, only 3 left from the entire box (the strawberry ones), not bad. Ethan ate the rest of them FYI...I guess it wasn't a bad buy after all.

Handsomely remodeled bungalow located on a tree-lined street in Woodland Heights! This home offers a formal living and dining in the front most park of the home and the kitchen is located central to the home, and opens up to the spacious family room with high ceilings! This wonderful home is located on a corner and conveniently located across fro Travis Elementary! *Did not flood during Harvey, per owner.

Mentioned by a friend of mine, I happened to be in the area so made a quick stop and it’s a fast food type of place, which happens to be perfect for the moment as I’m on the way to a photo shoot. I’m looking at their menu and it’s kond of cool how they allow a lot of customization, but I go with the #1 Grilled Pork, their best selling. Ethan goes custom and gets the Ribeye with and egg, which turns out he didn’t like so much and only ate half, and didn’t want to take it home, which really doesn’t mean much as a 16 year old, he’s not really into leftovers and saving money. Anyway, I liked my Grilled Pork Banh Mi and I liked how spicy the jalapeno was...the only complaint was the bread was falling apart as I got through it, however it was soft. The egg rolls were good, Ethan ate 3 of the 8 (2 orders) and I had 2, and i did take the rest home for daddy, but Ethan ate those too. So the egg rolls are 16 year old and Soo approved! And baby Liam liked the kid’s fried rice! The iced coffee was pretty good too.

I wasn't sure what to expect but I was hoping for the best...to my dismay it's close to a Panda Express than a real Chinese restaurant. Basically no dine in unless you want to sit outside. You could sit at the bar. But more importantly the food quality was pretty mediocre and flavors were very...chainy. I didn't really enjoy my food or eat that much of it. Maybe we just ordered the wrong thing...

Very disappointing. I was hoping for a go-to Chinese spot, but this was definitely not it. The food tastes cheap and the seating was not adequate. You either sit inside at a small bar or outside with 3 industrial fans blowing in your face. We were disappointed by the whole experience so decided to pack up our food and go home, where we ate the food and was even more disappointed. Kung Pao Chicken and Mongolian Beef. It's not horrible, but it's not good either.

Surprisingly better than I thought it was going to be. When I was looking at reviews I made sure to only read reviews from Asians, sorry, we just know better when it comes to Asian food. Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised that the food was actually pretty good, but the atmosphere was so so.

This is the mama in me posting...it’s hard to find Melissa & Doug items, mostly you have to find them online but I found a whole aisle of Melissa & Doug items at Arne’s Party Store, of all places! Perfect for Christmas shopping for the little ones!